26th Sunday- Jealousy & Envy

 What is the difference between envy and jealousy? Jealousy wants to guard what one possesses (or wants to possess) and to keep others from having it. This was the case in the first reading and also the Gospel.

Envy resents what the other person has and may even want to harm them because of it.

In the first reading, there was an outpouring of the spirit on the seventy elders who were with Moses. But there were some who were not present in the camp, yet the spirit came down upon them as well and they began prophesying. Eldad and Medad asked Moses to stop them. But Moses responded, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets.” They didn’t want others to have what they had.

Jealousy is also what the Apostles had in today’s Gospel. They tried to prevent someone from casting out demons because he was not of their company.

In both the first reading and also the Gospel, they wanted to guard what they possessed and keep others from having it.

Envy, on the other hand resents another person’s good fortune and may even end up harming another person due to it. By the envy of the devil, death entered into the world. Because God accepted the sacrifice of Abel, rather than his brother Cain, Cain killed his brother out of envy. Saul was envious of David’s success in killing many more Philistines than Saul and so sold Saul wanted to kill him. Jacob’s sons envied their brother Joseph because he was his father’s favorite and so him into slavery. Herod was envious of the Child Jesus, who was the king of the Jews, and so Herod wanted to kill Him to prevent Jesus taking away his earthly kingdom, though Our Lord had no intention of doing so. Since Jesus healed many and even raised Lazarus from the dead, the Pharisees seeing that the “whole world has gone after Him.” were envious of Our Lord and wanted Him put to death. Pilate handed Jesus over to be put to death, due to envy of the chief priests because the people were no longer listening to them anymore.

Christ died at the hands of envious men that He might deliver men from the same envy that nailed Him to the cross.

Can you think of examples of envy in your life. At school one can envy the popular kid, so you try to make others not like him by saying lies about him. Or if a co-worker get promoted so try to get the boss to see all their faults.

As Christians we should practice the opposite virtue from the sin we struggle with. So what are the opposite virtues of envy and jealousy?
The opposite of envy is kindness. So rather than being resentful we wish the best for the other person. Our love for someone should be without bias or spite. God blesses each of us in different ways. Look upon your life the ways God has blessed you, rather than counting the ways God “hasn’t” blessed you.

With regard to jealousy the opposite is generosity. We should be glad and rejoice that others have the same or greater gifts than we do and we should thank God for His generosity towards them. We should allow others to do what we are doing and help others to learn the things we have learned to help them in such a way that they would even do better than us, and we would rejoice in their success.

There is never a good reason to be envious, because one is always sad at the outcome of others and may even want harm to come upon them.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury teaches that our ultimate joy in heaven will be increased by the absence of envy: He said, “If anyone else whom you love as much as yourself possessed the same blessedness, your joy would be doubled because you would rejoice as much for him as for yourself.”

Today, let us pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and ask Her to help us to be kind and generous towards everyone, to wish what is best for them and thank God for the gifts He has given them and given us and so avoid the sins of envy and jealousy, so we will rejoice in the blessedness of the saints in heaven, who will rejoice in blessedness of everyone.